We went into our local car bodyshop (carozzeria) today to get a quote for the damage to our car following the run-in with a truck. The two mechanics have been there for 40 years and after an initial grilling by them, they promised to give us an estimate for the work in a couple of days. We did get onto the subject of my Giulietta though, and as he is an owner of 8 classic cars and having completely restored a classic Alfa Spider, this fills me with great excitement and hope that my little car might be coming home. All I need to do now is to get it running so it can be driven to Italy and then to find it a garage to stay in. Minor details?! [More car stuff to follow in a future post!]
After a leisurely stroll through the woods with Daisy, stopped to have a Campari Soda at Bar Marconi before lunch at Serenella. Jamie had goose in tomato sauce with romanesco broccoli and I had braised veal with a strange new vegetable called ‘agretti’. Eaten boiled, cold with olive oil and lemon juice, bit like a spinach really.
We also bought a stash of fruit and vegetables from the stall in the town that appears every Tuesday with produce from Calabria and Sicily. Great tomatoes, oranges and clementines, a huge fennel bulb, artichokes (have to work out how to cook these) and a box of delicious strawberries.
After lunch we met with the carpenter at the house to measure up for new windows, doors and shutters. Also we need to choose the style of mosquito mesh too, which is something we hadn’t considered but will be necessary in the height of summer as they always see me as a main course. We still have not heard whether the local council has approved all this yet. This permission is taking ages. Good job we are not doing anything more destructive.
We ended the day by finally managing to dispose of our garden rubbish. This is after a wasted trip to our own site, a phone call to the freephone ‘rubbish’ line who promised to ring back with instructions, and didn’t. Another call this morning was more helpful and although this new dump is a bit of a trek to Tavernelle, we had to go there anyway to collect some tiles. I will be creating a compost bin I think.
Back home for spag-bol chez nous. Followed by strawberries in red wine and black pepper. We need to order a radiator tomorrow and some extra lights for the stairs. The terracotta tiles are ready for collection but so far still nothing from the bathroom suppliers.
p.s. Header picture shows Daisy modelling her fancy new collar.
Sunflowers and Saffron 